


Couples Massage

by CatrinaSL



Series: FYDL Cool for the Summer 2018 [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Awkwardness, Couples Massage, F/M, FYDL Cool for the Summer 2018, Getting Back Together, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Massage, Past Relationship(s), SHIP DARCY LEWIS WITH ALL THE THINGS, Spas are mandatory, Suggestive Themes, loki is a menace, spa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-18 14:37:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15488037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL
Summary: Loki “accidentally” books a couples massage. It would be a waste for Darcy not to accept his invitation for a free massage, right?





	Couples Massage

**Author's Note:**

> [Cool for the Summer: A Darcyland Vacation Challenge!](http://fuckyeahdarcylewis.tumblr.com/post/175911846672/fckyeahdarcylewis-cool-for-the-summer-a)
> 
> Day 9: Spas are mandatory

"Spas are  _ mandatory _ , Jane," Darcy said decidedly. "I deserve it after the Weekend of Hell that this conference is going to put me through. Besides, what else am I supposed to do while you and Thor are off being a power couple at the closing ceremonies mixer thing?"

"You could—" Jane began. 

"No way," Darcy interrupted. "I am not going to the party. Not after what happened  _ last _ time."

"Come on, Darcy," Jane sighed. "Dr. Cunningham isn't allowed at the parties anymore. Not after last time."

"Yeah, no thanks," Darcy said, turning back to the plethora of possible hotel choices before her. "The place has to have a spa or I walk."

"Fine," Jane replied, closing her notebook with another sigh. "I guess it's a good idea; that way Loki will have something to do aside from lurking in the corner looking menacing."

Darcy blinked at the computer screen. Then she swiveled her chair to face Jane. "Time out; what was that?"

"Thor's brother is menacing?" Jane repeated.

"I actually meant the first part—the Loki part," Darcy said weakly.

"Loki's going to be there?" It was said with such an unconcern that Darcy was immediately convinced that Jane thought she had already shared this news. About Thor's brother. Darcy's sort-of love interest. Though, did he still count as a love interest if she hadn't seen him since before the last time he'd faked his death?

"So… was that a definite yes on the spa?" Darcy managed to say.

"Sure, whatever you want," Jane replied, only half paying attention; her notebook was open again.

Darcy turned back to the computer to narrow down their choices, surprised she wasn't feeling more apprehensive about seeing Loki. It was better to know, she decided, than if she had run into him while getting a pedicure.

* * *

And then of course she  _ did _ run into him while getting a pedicure.

"Miss Lewis."

She started and nearly kicked the manicurist, but made sure to pause to give them an apologetic look before turning her attention to Loki.

"You look well," he said, with a smirk that said he knew exactly what his presence did to her.

Darcy hid the shiver that ran down her back at the sound of his voice. "You look... alive," she replied.

"Indeed," Loki agreed, helping himself to a seat in the empty pedicure chair beside her, despite his impeccable suit and expensive-looking shoes.

"What... are you doing here?"

"Traveling with my brother," he replied easily.

"Yeah, I got that," Darcy told him. "I more meant...  _ here _ . Like, at the hotel spa."

"Relaxing," Loki said, making himself comfortable in the chair. "You cannot imagine how relieved I was when Doctor Foster told me that there was a spa on the premises. Too often comfort is put aside in the name of frugality." He let out a long, contented sigh. "Spas are mandatory."

Darcy eyed him; she wasn't sure if this admission of his was actually a shared opinion or if he had somehow been magically eavesdropping when she had tried to drive the same point home to Jane. Agreeing with him seemed like a trap—a favorite of Loki's—that would make him grin and make  _ her _ feel like an idiot.

Instead, she said nothing, turning back to her pampering and pretending as though Loki wasn't there. He hadn't been around for so long, acting like he was gone was easy.

"While we're on the subject," Loki continued about five minutes later, "I booked a massage for myself later this afternoon."

"Mmm," Darcy hummed, a noncommittal 'that's nice.'

"Though it seems as though I booked a couples massage by mistake."

Darcy pressed her lips together and the manicurist rolled their eyes—even they knew what was coming.

"I could, of course, go and correct the mistake, but I thought... as long as you're here... and you're not going to be occupied getting ready for the party my brother and Doctor Foster will be attending this evening... Would you like to join me?"

"Would I like to join you for the couples massage that  _ you _ booked by  _ mistake _ ."

"If you would rather not, I can always—"

"No," Darcy interrupted. She'd wanted a massage but didn't think she could swing it due to "frugality," as Loki put it. A facial, manicure, and pedicure were all she'd sprung for, but if he'd already paid for it... it  _ would _ have been a shame to let it go to waste. "I'll take the massage."

Loki smiled, but not quite the same way he would have if she'd fallen into a well-laid trap. "Excellent," he said, holding out a piece of paper. "Here are the details: place, time, that kind of thing."

"Thank you," Darcy said, though she wasn't actually sure she'd made the right decision.

A nod was the only reply she got from Loki as he slipped out of the chair, giving her a small bow before he exited the spa.

"That one's trouble," the manicurist commented as soon as he was gone.

Darcy sighed and leaned back against the headrest. "You have  _ no _ idea."

* * *

Loki was waiting outside the door when Darcy arrived. He greeted her with a nod and went back to leaning against the wall.

She nodded back (even though he couldn't see) and put the reservation confirmation back in the pocket of her robe. No reason to check it again when it was obvious she was in the right place.

Loki had swapped out his sleek black suit for a loose fitting t-shirt and long athletic shorts, and he was wearing a pair of hotel slippers instead of his fancy shoes. It was possible that he didn't want to waste a lot of time changing, but seeing him in such casual Midgardian clothing was... new. Different. Darcy wasn't sure how she felt about it. 

And then there was the  _ hair _ . “Loki” and “man bun” would normally not have been uttered in the same sentence, but with the attire and the way he was standing, casually, arms folded, leaning against the wall… it kind of  _ worked _ .

The door opened, and a massage therapist glanced out at them before consulting a clipboard. "Mr. and Mrs... Frig—?"

"Friggason, yes, that's us," Loki interrupted. 

The massage therapist smiled. "Come on in and let's get started."

Loki gallantly offered to let Darcy enter first. 

"'Mr. and Mrs.?'" she asked as she walked past him.

"Well, it  _ is _ a couples massage, and it was booked under my name..." Loki replied, and she could hear the smirk in his tone.

"Mmhm," she hummed, unconvinced.

Darcy barely listened to the pre-massage spiel, nodding along and answering questions when necessary. Sooner than she expected, the massage therapists stepped out of the room with a final, "Undress to your comfort level, and we'll be right back."

And then she was alone in a small, dark room.

With Loki.

Who immediately pulled off his shirt and tossed it on a nearby chair.

Darcy turned away, suddenly nervous. She was glad she'd had a little time to plan for this.

"Are you all right, Miss Lewis?"

"Fine," Darcy replied, kicking her flip flops off and hopping onto the table. Loki was silent as she carefully pulled the sheet up over herself, removing her robe slowly so as not to expose any section of skin that she wasn't ready to share with the class. It wasn't as though Loki hadn't seen it all before, but that had been a long time ago.

"Masterfully done," she heard Loki murmur as she turned over onto her stomach and expertly tossed her robe onto the chair.

"Yup, I'm awesome," Darcy agreed, and put her face in the thing. The face thing. She didn't know what they were called, but it was the thing for her face, and putting her face there meant that she had no chance of seeing anything happening on the other side of Loki's table. Not when he shuffled the slippers off. Or when the athletic shorts he'd been wearing hit the ground.

A rustling of cloth and a sigh as Loki stretched himself out on the table were the only sounds in the room until the knock on the door. "Ready?" one of the massage therapists asked.

"Perfectly, thank you," Loki replied.

Darcy drew in a breath as the door opened, resolving to forget that Loki was there and just enjoy the free massage.

But about fifteen minutes in, Loki mumbled something.

"What?" Darcy asked, before realizing he could have been talking to the massage therapist.

Loki cleared his throat. "I said, 'I hope you've been well since last I saw you.'"

"Oh." She had. Aside from the fact that she'd thought he was dead until Thor told them otherwise, she had been very well. "I have."

"That's good."

Darcy hummed an affirmative, and silence settled back in. 

"What about you?" she asked, just as the awkwardness reached its peak.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you're..." Alive? The one who vanished without saying anything and now we're getting a couples massage? Infuriating? "Here."

Loki chuckled as though she'd said everything that had run through her brain. "I am," he agreed.

Darcy waited for him to continue, but he merely cleared his throat again. After a few minutes, she decided two attempts at conversation were plenty; if he wanted to chat, the ball was in his court.

And then, so quiet she wasn't sure he meant her to hear: "I missed you."

She stared at the floor, completely baffled. How was she supposed to respond to that? "No you didn't"? "Your actions say otherwise"? "Prove it"? "What does that even matter"?

A deep, cleansing breath helped her settle on: "Thanks for saying that."

The silence was suddenly less awkward. Darcy no longer felt the need to talk, and neither did Loki, it seemed, as he didn't speak until he was thanking the massage therapists for their excellent work.

Darcy stayed on the table—with her face in the thing—for a few minutes after. At first she was just relaxing, and then when she heard Loki get up, she decided to stay where she was until clothes happened.

"Would you like me to fetch your robe?"

"Yes, thank you."

She was expecting him to just set it on the table next to her, but when no robe appeared... Darcy looked up when Loki cleared his throat.

He was holding out the robe, obviously waiting to help her into it, his face turned away so as not to catch a glimpse of any exposed section of skin that Darcy wasn't ready to share with the class.

Darcy raised an eyebrow. How gentlemanly of him.

"Loki..." she began, wrapping herself the sheet that covered her as she sat up. "Did you book a couples massage just for the chance to get me alone in a room, naked?"

A smirk appeared on his face—a small one, as though he were trying to suppress it. "Whatever gave you that impression, Miss Lewis?"

Darcy stepped down off the table and moved closer to Loki. "Well, mostly the fact that we're alone in a room, and I'm naked," she told him.

He turned his face toward her, the smirk more prominent as he ran his eyes over her. "So we are," he observed. If he was disappointed that all of her interesting bits were covered up, he didn't show it. He proffered the robe, and Darcy turned so that he could set it across her shoulders. She slid her arms into the sleeves—keeping one hand on the sheet at all times—then wiggled out of the sheet as she belted the robe.

"Shall we?" Loki asked next to her ear.

"I'm ready," Darcy replied, and tossed the sheet back onto the table before reclaiming her shoes.

Loki opened the door for her, and she exited the room to where the massage therapists were waiting with smiles and bottles of water. Darcy thanked them, and Loki thanked them monetarily.

"Have a nice day, Mr. and Mrs. Friggason, and enjoy the rest of your stay!"

Loki waited until they were out of earshot before saying, "May I walk you back to your room, 'Mrs. Friggason?'"

"Sorry, there's no one here by that name," Darcy replied airily. "But Miss Lewis wouldn't mind the company."

Loki smiled his victory smile. "Then by all means, lead the way."

* * *

There wasn't much conversation on the walk back to Darcy's room. They focused on little things, like, "How is Doctor Foster liking the lecture circuit?" "Honestly, I think she'd rather be back in the lab." and "She must be receiving a generous stipend to be able to afford to stay in a hotel like this." "Not really, but she agreed to splurge this one time." and "Ah, you booked the accommodations, then? That makes sense. This place seems much more your style than hers."

"Look," Darcy said, pausing after unlocking her door. She held it slightly ajar with one hand as she turned back to look Loki in the eye. "You're here now, but I'm not going to kid myself: I know that you're not always going to be here. You leave; it's what you do, and sometimes you're gone for a long time." 

His gaze was too much; she let her eyes roam down to where his hands were stuffed into the pockets of his athletic shorts. "Long distance—super mega space long distance—it's definitely not the kind of thing I'm looking for long term. I need whoever I'm with to  _ be there _ , y'know? I know it's not too much to ask—the expectations I have for a relationship are important to me, and if you feel they're unreasonable, then we just have different expectations, and that's fine."

"Miss Lewis—" Loki began.

"Let me finish," Darcy interrupted. She took a deep breath and continued: "I don't want you to think you can fake your death and then waltz back to Earth and back into my good graces by accidentally on purpose booking us a couples massage. That's not okay."

"I apologize if I—"

"But," Darcy said, cutting him off again. "I'm here. And you're here. And I'm not... in a relationship with anyone else right now. So if you still—"

Loki stepped forward quickly and stopped her words with his lips. Darcy slipped her arms around his neck and he pulled her close.

"I don't want you to think I'll just fall back into your arms whenever you show up," she told him when they stopped to breathe. "When you disappear, I'm going to keep living my life. And that might include finding a special someone. A special someone that isn't you."

"I understand," Loki murmured, swooping in for another kiss. "Though I think I should tell you that I have no current plans to leave."

Darcy gave him a sarcastic smile, communicating, 'sounds fake, but okay.' It was a nice thing to hear, but she couldn't hope it was true.

"And if I  _ do _ decide to go..." Loki continued, his lips against her ear. "There's no reason you can't come with me."

"Why don't we talk about that later?" she asked, and stepped back into her room, pulling Loki with her.

He smirked and his hands went to the tie of her robe. "That's an excellent idea."

**Author's Note:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/176816040958/couples-massage)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


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